1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to luminaires and, more specifically, to an improved cyclorama light.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Large curved curtains or screens as backgrounds for stage settings have been used for many years. Such curtains or screens are frequently referred to as cycloramas ("CYCs"). Frequently such cycloramas also include a series of large pictures, as of a landscape, placed on a wall of a circular room so as to appear in natural perspective to a spectator standing on the set in the center. However, in the field of lighting, to which this invention relates, a cyclorama or a "CYC" is a vertical surface used to form the background for a theatrical setting, usually made of heavy cloth drawn tight to achieve a smooth flat surface. With appropriate light projected on it, it usually represents the sky or suggests limitless space. Traditionally, cycloramas were horizontally curved but may now also be flat or vertically curved as well. Examples of cycloramas are discussed generally in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,989,362; 4,123,152; 4,512,117; and 4,893,447.
The present invention specifically relates to a cyclorama light or CYC light, which is a luminaire mounted at the top and/or the bottom of a cyclorama in order to light it in smooth, substantially uniform manner. While CYC lights have been known and have also been used for many years, they have had a number of disadvantages. In the past, CYC lights were difficult and inconvenient to work with in providing desired light distributions on a cyclorama. Aside from being bulky and heavy, known CYC lights have not always provided the desired light distributions or the necessary ranges to cover different cyclorama configurations. This was particularly true when the same CYC lights were used to provide lighting for both flat and curved screens. The adjustments required were difficult and inconvenient to make. Also, because such lights tended to emit significant amounts of light over relatively large areas, the lamps used for these lights tended to get very hot, thus also heating the luminaire itself Failure to adequately cool the bulbs has caused the lights themselves to become extremely hot as well as cause the deterioration of gel color filters used therein and even caused damage to the reflectors. Overheating of the lamp housings also presented danger of injury to the lighting staff as well as others in proximity to these lights.
Other disadvantages of prior CYC light included the inability of such lights to accommodate more than one size lamp or bulb. However, because there are a number of different lamp sizes, a standard lamp could not always be substituted and only the lamp for which the light was specifically designed could be used to replace a burned out lamp. Prior CYC lights have also had some difficulty in adjusting for non-level surfaces when these lamps are mounted on a floor or a stage. Lighting personnel have been required to use numerous objects that they placed under the light to adjust the angles of the light and the positions of shadow lines and/or to compensate for a non-level floor.